


Saving Stars

by LittleGrumblrAnna



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Other, Retelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-12
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-19 22:17:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5982604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleGrumblrAnna/pseuds/LittleGrumblrAnna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If only the Save Points continued to heal after leaving The Underground.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A small bony hand clasped their right hand while a white furry one filled the other. Surrounded by the golden flowers they had become so accustomed to seeing, peace fell over them. Reseting wasn't an option anymore, but they knew it didn't matter. Forcing their eyes open, meeting the gaze of the monsters they didn't even think would know of their plan, they smiled. It was over, and though their voice was no longer, they mouthed 'i'm sorry' before finally hearing their soul shatter for the last time.

*** 

They were sick, sick with a disease that neither of their parents could afford to pay for the medication, or actually care that their child was on a slow walk to death. They were unwanted, unneeded, no, unplanned was the best way to to describe their existence. Yet, here they were alive, no, dying and not a single soul cared, not even themselves. 'What was even the point of being brought into this world?' they thought. The more they thought on this, the more a desire rose up within them. A desire to leave, to leave in their own way before the disease took away whatever time was left in their small body. Traveling sounded fun, but if their parents had no money than neither did they. But then, a name echoed in their head as if it had been the obvious choice all along.

Mt Ebott.  
Mt Ebott?

The mountain said to take all of its climbers, never to return? It was the obvious choice, they had no intention of returning to a loveless home, if it could have even been called that. What was better, Mt Ebott was close, so close. 

It was decided. 

They didn't even care if their exhaustion killed them first, they were climbing that mountain. 

They did.  
They fell. 

They didn't die. Before they fell into a hole overgrown with plant life, a flash of gold caught their eye.

Flowers.  
Golden Flowers. 

They broke their fall. Aside from the little light trickling in from above, everything was dark around the flowers. They got up despite their fears and pressed on trying to suppress thoughts of what lurks in the shadows. An entrance was found and entered where they met a monster far from their expectations. A small, talking flower named Flowey. Without even asking, it decided to educate them on The Underground. On LOVE, EXP, and, 'Friendliness Pellets' which they promptly dodged. Love didn't seem like it came in small little bullet-like shells, not that they would know. However, what they did feel when Toriel, keeper of the ruins, saved them from Flowey's onslaught, might have been more than gratitude. They followed her without question to the next room and while she waited patiently by an entrance atop the stairs, their eyes caught a glimpse of something peculiar. Something shiny, like a star, among the red leaf piles. 

They touched it. 

Fatigue, gone. Wounds, disappeared. Something felt like it was filled to the brim, and it gave them the will to carry on. 

They did. 

Through the ruins full of puzzles and Froggits where they met one very weepy ghost and partook in a spider bake sale. They carried on through Toriel's trial and one warm hug later, into a chilly snow filled area where more puzzles and puzzle loving skeletons were met. Well, one of them seemed to love puzzles, the other one, Sans, just loved his puzzle adoring brother, Papyrus. More and more 'stars' were sprinkled throughout the snow and upon reaching the jolly town of Snowdin, there was another as if it was waiting for them. The thought of finding more, no, the thought of using them to make their illness's weary symptoms vanish was more than enough motivation to keep going. 

The thought filled them with determination. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art by: http://sureisdusty.tumblr.com/


	2. Chapter 2

They spent time with Papyrus, both dodging his capture attempts, and later a date leading right into the friendzone. They spent time with Sans, at his favorite food dive where they chatted about a familiar flower and then didn't end up eating anything at all. 

To Waterfall they went, a saving star there waiting for them, and many more to be found once their encounters with Undyne became more frequent and more terrifying. Phone calls from Papyrus helped ease the tension slightly and the Monster Kid's enthusiasm to meet his hero was adorable. They continued regardless of Undyne's spear onslaught and even when they were thrown into a watery dump, those Golden Flowers broke their fall once again. One ghost dummy fight and one visit with the weepy ghost Napstablook, they were off again. Undyne witnessed their kindness when saving Monster Kid, but still branded them a coward. No matter what, they weren't going to fight her, so they did what they had been doing in their entire duration of Waterfall. 

Run. 

She often caught up, but they were nimble enough to escape her magic and unknowingly lead her into the Hotlands where her heavy armor was her downfall. 

They gave her a glass of water from the strangely placed cooler before pouring themselves a cup. 

She said nothing.  
She left.

Papyrus had called them while fleeing, asking if they'd befriend their pursuer, but they felt Undyne had seen enough of them for awhile. 

Maybe later.

They thought they saw Sans at one of his umpteen sentry stations at Hotland's entrance, but a quick peek back showed only unmelting snow on roof of an unmanned station. A wave of exhaustion finally hit them once their adrenaline wore off. They dragged their feet towards the cooler again but immediately spied the familiar glimmer of a saving star nearby, followed by a large building. They sat beside the star for a bit, ignoring the two guards blocking a northern path, staring them down. They knew this heat was going to be no joke, but touching the star again gave them more energy to outweigh their exhaustion and curiosity about the building, that could now be clearly seen labeled as a 'Lab', certainly got them on their feet again. 

Air conditioning and a jittery scientist, Alphys, met them and within a few minutes of conversation a robot burst through the lab wall after its mention, as if it was waiting for its cue. It took several painful, electric shocks from Mettaton's highly unfair quiz show before noticing Alphys was using her hands to give them the answers. With a few more, now correct, answers and accidentally embarrassing their savior, Mettaton was off. 

With a new cellphone in hand so were they.


	3. Chapter 3

The entirety of their stay in Hotlands was a frustration. With Alphys constantly barraging them with online status updates, Mettaton's violent TV broadcasts, and of course, the heat. However, they actually found most of the puzzles enjoyable, especially the arrows that sent them flying, providing both a breeze and a similar giddy feeling of biking down a hill. The saving stars were slightly less abundant but were always placed in sight just when they started to feel weary. 

They encountered the two guards from the lab entrance a little later, which resulted in accidentally helping them start a relationship and they had a very close call with the spider bake sale girl, Muffet, who instantly decided not to harm them once the spiders of The Ruins vouched for their purchase. 

An extremely large building came into view and after the panic with Muffet, they were both feeling mentally and physically exhausted. They climbed the stairs toward it hoping to see a saving star somewhere nearby, but instead were met with the wide grin of a familiar skeleton. Sans invited them out to eat again, this time at the hotel looming in front of them. The dinner conversation was a one sided explanation from Sans about how he had made friends with a lady behind The Ruins door, how she asked Sans to take care of them, and that if he had never met this lady and had this chat...

Sans' eyes darkened 

That they'd be dead where they stand.

Though being able feel the fear Sans wanted them to, they only replied with a blank, tired stare. Sans quickly reverted back, laughing it off, and telling them that they were rooting for them. He took his leave from their foodless meal and the desire to finding a saving star became a priority again. Relief washed over them seeing one in the lobby's entrance in front of a very broken fountain. They sat next to it and looked over their shoulder to see The Core's entrance. The Core was their next obstacle. 

Obstacle?  
What Obstacle?

An obstacle in their way to going home? That was the last thing they wanted. Their desire to explore morphed into a hunt for saving stars which seemed to be abundant in The Underground, but outside? There was nothing for them. 

A strange feeling bubbled up inside of them.


	4. Chapter 4

Alphys sounded more nervous than normal once they entered The Core. While she did seem upset about something it soon turned to panic when she realized The Core was not laid out as she remembered. 

They remained calm and followed a path outside of Alphys' frantic instructions and were met with a force field. The sign above it read 'I cannot think, I cannot fight, but with patience I will make my way through' so they took a chance and waited.

And waited

Until a click was heard and the force field disappeared. Another saving star was seen up ahead and a large door which they assumed would lead to Asgore's castle. 

They paused after touching the star. 

Asgore had been mentioned to them several times but seeing that they never actually wanted to leave they wondered if the King would let them stay. Everyone assumed their journey was to get out, to leave, but it wasn't, it was purely fascination mixed with desperation. 

Then they remembered Toriel's warnings and Undyne's war cries. They thought about how valuable their soul was to the whole underground and felt guilt seep into their worries. They had developed a will to live, but for what exactly? 

They finally broke out of their thoughts and pressed on to see Mettaton blocking their way. He revealed Alphys' 'help' had all been a sort of game to her and that Mettaton played along, but he was through with that now, he was actually going to try and kill them. 

Though they were expecting something more quick and explosive for the battle, Alphys had them flip a switch on Mettaton's back, and it turned into the most absurd of his TV broadcasts yet.

The entire underground loved it, Mettaton changed his mind about them, and they continued on, with a visibly upset Alphys in tow. Just as the two of them reached the final door before the long trek to the castle, Alphys apologized and explained that if they wanted to go home, they'd actually have to kill Asgore and take his soul to walk through the barrier. 

She ran off leaving them with the dull vibrations of The Core for company. 

Kill?  
Kill Asgore?

No.  
They refused. 

They didn't want to go home, they didn't want to die, and they certainly weren't going to kill anyone. There had to be another way. 

They took the elevator, tapping their foot in anger and practically burst out of the doors at their destination. Frustration filled their thoughts a they tried to come up with numerous other options and their steps gained more speed the more they mulled. Grumbling and huffing wasn't helping, but it was stopping tears from welling up in their eyes. Without even noticing their anger was decreasing the travel time down the path, the sight of a familiar, yet different, home stopped them in their tracks. They had arrived at their destination?

Confusion melted away their anger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neutral ending next chapter! Get ready!


	5. Chapter 5

The house was identical to Toriel's. The only difference that caught their eye was an abundance of those Golden Flowers that were either freshly cut in vases, or growing contently in planters. Their immediate thought was to head for the kitchen to find a familiar face and her cooking, but the glint of a padlock across the 'Ruins exit' stopped them. A note attached to it was a friendly invitation to the garden.

From Asgore.

He seemed so inviting and kind, yet they were absolutely terrified. Taking a deep breath, they started for the kitchen again, this time looking for the key. It was out in the open but before they reached out to grab it they noticed two Froggits nearby. They hopped over to them and began telling a story. 

A story about a human who fell into The Underground.  
About how Asgore's son, Asriel, found the human.

The Froggits hopped away, they grabbed the key. They began their walk for the next key, but they were stopped by more monsters who continued the story. 

Asriel and the human became like siblings.  
It filled the entire Underground with hope.

Both keys in hand, they unlocked the padlock and were continually stopped by more and more monsters.

The human became ill.  
The human wanted to see the Golden Flowers of their home.  
The human died.  
Asriel took the human's soul and body, passing through the barrier towards their home.

And through fear and misunderstanding, Asriel was slain for trying to grant his sibling their wish. Both of their corpses, one ash, the other of flesh, both returned to The Underground bringing back only fear and sorrow. 

And anger.

War declared. All the other fallen humans slain. Just one more. They just needed one more. 

One more soul.  
Their soul.

Tears were falling to the ground. The monsters looked puzzled, telling them that they should be happy.

They were going be free. 

The story ended, everything was quiet save the soft pitter-patter of tears hitting the ground. What did they do? What could they do? They entered a bright corridor, but the saving star they found couldn't give them the comfort they so longed for. They touched it regardless, not even feeling a difference and continued on, hoping their tears would stop before facing Asgore. 

Their tears were instead scared out of them as the sudden tolling of bells resounding through the corridor and a small, shadowy figure emerged from behind one of the pillars. They felt their heart stop as the figure began to educate them on the true meanings of LOVE, EXP, and proceeding to judge them on their actions. They had harmed nobody, so they were unsure on how to reply, so they said nothing at all until their judge was finished. A slim beam of light hit the judge's face revealing Sans with a surprisingly softer expression than his usually cheeky grin. He presented them with a choice, kill Asgore and leave, or die meaning all of monsterkind leaves. They didn't reply. 

A short silence passed and Sans ended with wishing them good luck and disappearing again. The choice echoed in their ears like it had been said too loud and it continued until they were face to face with their would be killer. He was terrified to see them, yet he tried to act kindly. There were many saving stars in the area of his castle, but they ignored all of them and went straight to the barrier. They attempted to explain to Asgore that they didn't want to fight and despite his kind exterior being replaced with one of power, they could see his kindness trying to seep through the cracks.

He didn't want mercy.

They pulled out their phone, accessed a dimensional box, and the stick they had brought with them from their climb appeared. Looking at it made them remember their fatigue and illness, but it was too late to run. It hardly harmed him, but they did their best to dodge his fire magic and spear strikes. This went on for what seemed like hours.

Their breathing was hard and their tears resurfaced. The glow of the other souls behind them felt as if they were cheering them on. They brought down their weapon harder then their previous strikes and Asgore fell to his knees. They dropped the stick and staggered backwards catching their breath. Asgore begged for his death, telling them to take his soul and go home. 

They told him...

That they have no home to go to. That they came here out of curiosity and stayed for a completely different reason. That the last thing they were going to do was kill anyone. 

Asgore's eyes widened and through his injuries he outreached his paw to them and clasped their tiny hand. He promised them...

They he'd take care of them, give them a home, read them stories, and love them. That they'd be like a family.  
They lifted their free hand and met his. Asgore pulled them gently to him and embraced their small body shaking with sobs. 

Family.  
What a foreign word.

But everything Asgore described was exactly what they had craved on the surface. Their pain was eased by the saving stars, but they only felt it was finally gone now trying to wrap their free arm around Asgore. 

He suddenly pushed them away and before confusion set in, a circle of what were first introduced as 'friendliness pellets' hammered at Asgore's broken body until he faded away, leaving his soul, shaking in desperation. They tried to reach out to it but a single pellet shattered it. Flowey's maniacal laughter bounced off the barrier and the, now free, souls were pulled towards him.

They couldn't hear his speech, all the could hear was their heartbeat in their ears as they picked up the stick again and lunged at him, screaming. 

Everything went white, then black. 

There was nothing but a black void. They screamed Flowey's name full of anguish and started to run in no direction. They ran until they saw something familiar.

A saving star. 

They tried to touch it but it cracked in half and a giant image of Flowey poured out. This time, they heard his speech. Flowey thanked them for weakening Asgore enough so he could finish him off. Thanked them allowing the other human souls to be so easily taken, and then declared that he was a god, and was going to kill them. The image of Flowey contorted and shook violently and they could only watch in horror as it became a monstrosity. 

Flowey's attacks were relentless and extremely painful. They did all they could to try and gain distance or dodge, but it was hardly any use. 

The onslaught stopped all of a sudden. The large screen attached to Flowey's new body was displaying a warning while showcasing one of the stolen souls. A tube hooked into the screen glowed the same color of its captive and soon everything was filled with...

Knives. 

Frantic, they dodged as best they could, but a few edges pierced their body. The captured soul was now lone displayed on the screen, and as if it was watching them, didn't move. They pressed their hands to their wounds and called out to it.

They called for help. 

The knives turned into bandages that healed their wounds.  
Gloves originally unfurled to hit turned into thumbs up.  
Ballet shoes stopped trying to stomp and apologized with music.  
Negative words turned positive.  
Fire became food.  
Gunshots became lucky clovers.

The souls surrounded them, Flowey's defenses were gone, they fought. 

They won. 

No matter how hard Flowey tried to kill them, the souls stepped in.

Rebelled.

He had no power anymore. 

They stood above a small beaten up flower, stick in hand. He waited for his death. 

They stepped over him.

They ignored his warnings, his screeching claims of killing everyone they loved. They turned their head back to Flowey, met his eyes, and then continued to walk towards the exit. They heard Flowey muffle questions full of confusion in a small voice and they heard him leave soon after. 

They stared out the exit. Somehow, they had gotten through the barrier, but all they could see was more of the black void. Behind them the same. What did they do now? For a split moment, they had happiness only for it to be ripped from them. Now they were surrounded by an inky void that didn't seem to end. They had nothing else left to lose. They walked on, what seemed to be forever. 'Am I even moving?' they wondered. They couldn't even see themselves waving their hand in front of their face. No sound, no light, no end-

Their cellphone rang. 

They tried to get it out of their pocket to answer but it went to the messaging system before they could.

It was Sans.  
He left a message detailing on what had become of the underground, Papyrus joined in too. Sans told them not to give up, because they weren’t. 

They heard the click of the message ending and the void shook. Like pieces of glass, it broke and shattered. They crouched and covered their head until everything was still. Peeking from their position they saw a familiar scene. It was were they left Flowey after all this threats. Two buttons were hovering where he had been before running away. 

CONTINUE and RESET. 

They stared at them in awe and with a shaky hand, pressed continue. The world flashed past them and within seconds, they were back in the corridor where Sans had judged them. They blinked, pinched themselves, but it was true that they has continued for the last saving star they touched. They started to mull over what had happened when their cellphone's text tone chirped into their thoughts. 

A text from an unknown sender.  
It had a list reading the following:

Things for you to do  
1\. Befriend Undyne  
2\. Befriend Alphys  
3\. ???  
4\. Fight Asgore again

 

They stared at it for a long time.


	6. Chapter 6

They were back in Waterfall on the path leading to Undyne's house. Faint piano music could be heard and got louder as the fish shaped house came into view. Papyrus was waiting at her doorstep excitedly and waved to them as they approached. The thought of the strange text message distracted them through most of the introductions and it wasn't until the noise of glass shattering brought them back to reality. There was now a noticeable, Papyrus sized hole in Undyne's window, and Undyne was staring them down. They assured her that they had come to make peace with her, but she was having none of it. It wasn't until Papyrus peeked back through the broken window and presented friendship as a sort of challenge to be conquered that Undyne suddenly wanted to befriend them with extreme intensity. So much intensity that a simple time with tea, led to a cooking lesson, that ended up catching Undyne's house on fire. Undyne had demanded a fight from them among the flames, deciding their friendship was a bad idea, but they could only muster a small tap to her arm. To their surprise, this calmed her down, they became friends after all, and the two of them exited the fiery house. Undyne placed a letter to deliver to Alphys in their hands before running off to Snowdin to hang with Papyrus. 

Back to Hotlands they went, giving the saving star outside the lab a quick visit to get rid of their 'battle' scars from Undyne's friendship trials. They slid the letter under the lab door which resulted in very panicked noises being heard for the other side and something far too large to be used as a letter opener being run. Moments later the lab door opened and Alphys emerged with a troubled face. It turned to one of surprise once seeing they were the deliverer and without letting them explain, they were whisked away to the dump and having a date with Alphys. The date soon turned into a disaster as Alphys decided to call it off as she was madly in love with Undyne and was just humoring them. Again, trying to explain the situation was worthless as Undyne showed up, Alphys hid, and the 'date' soon turned into Alphys confessing all her fears and lies to Undyne. They just watched with disbelief as Undyne comforted Alphys, then promptly threw her into a nearby trashcan, and then with the declaration of Alphys being trained, Papyrus showed up and started a jogging session with Alphys out of the area. Undyne was in denial about a type of cartoon show being real or not and begged them to confirm its genuinity but they only ended up furthering her crushed dreams. She seemed to get over it quickly enough and was soon running after Papyrus and Alphys. 

They sighed and looked at their phone, bringing up the text and staring at the third step. They stopped at the saving star in the dump to regain some of their stamina that they felt had drained significantly after witnessing that spectacle. Their phone started ringing the tone when Papyrus calls and they picked up immediately. His speech pattern seemed different, but he gave instructions to head back to the lab and they were increasingly glad the River Person had their boat available to taxi them around. 

Back in the lab, a small note has been left for them from Alphys telling them that she was going to face her mistakes and that the truth about her was behind the door she had retreated behind in their first meeting. 

It led to and elevator. 

The elevator lost power. 

It fell.

They survived the fall and were able to get the doors open, revealing an older, and much darker laboratory. Here they learned about the fate of various monsters, about how they were injected with a substance extracted from the human souls and what ended up happening to them. They also encountered all of said monsters while looking for the keys to the generator room, each not as menacing at first glance, but still terrifying to deal with, especially the one disguised as a saving star. 

These were Alphys' mistakes, what she had been hiding and running from. Her journal entries were scattered about and the way the entries were written greatly mimicked her way of speech. There was one room they took a small break in that had a slew of home videos, all too dark to see the images, but the audio was intact. They first heard the voices of Toriel and Asgore and they hadn't put two and two together until now that Toriel was the missing queen. They pondered on her situation while playing another video revealing two voices they hadn't heard before. They were revealed to be Asriel and the fallen human, Chara playing around with the camera. Happier times led to anguish as the later videos hinted at Chara's illness and the heartbreak behind it. They stopped watching and continued on.

They had inserted all the keys, the door to the generator was open but they were unsure on how to get the power working again. A creeping feeling came over them and turning around had them surrounded by all the monsters they had avoided conflict with closing in on them. Alphys burst through the door and shooed them off before any damage was done, and she thanked them before taking all of the monsters out and what they presumed, home to their families.

They entered back into the elevator and immediately their phone started ringing. The tone was for an unknown caller. 

They answered.

It was a voice they hadn't heard before. 

It addressed them as the fallen human.

As Chara.

It thanked them for all their hard work and mentioned they'd see them soon. 

The elevator door shut. 

Everything began to shake. 

They were back at the pathway leading to the Asgore's castle. They looked back at the elevator to find it overgrown with vines, completely unusable. So the only option was to keep going and do step four from the list. 

They didn't want to. They didn't want to fight him again, see him die, and relive the nightmare that was the incident with Flowey and the souls. They pressed on regardless and soon found themselves being judged by Sans again. The bells didn't startle them this time, Sans' explanation was the same, until he made a remark that their face looked like it had heard it all before. They bit their lower lip and shook their heads, not wanting anymore trouble than they were already facing. Sans stared at them for a bit, shrugged, and then left in the same fashion he appeared. 

They met Asgore again, followed him all the way to the barrier's entrance, but this time made use of the saving star just before it. The fight seemed to be the same as well, but before Asgore could get a proper grip on his trident, a blast of fire magic came from behind them, knocking Asgore back. 

Toriel appeared, she had stopped the fight. They felt so happy that a few tears escaped. Toriel, a bit flustered at their state reassured them not to be afraid and explained that they weren't going to let Asgore, or anyone else hurt them. Asgore, was completely shocked at the sight of Toriel and almost started crying for joy himself until Toriel's angry disappointment in him brought him back to reality. 

Then Undyne arrived, barreling into the barrier room demanding the fight be called off. She was followed by Alphys, Papyrus, and then finally, Sans. Toriel and Sans, even though meeting properly for the first time, acted like old friends while Undyne and Alphys tried to comfort Asgore whom seemed a mix of confused and hurt. 

Soon, Toriel remarked at how the human she had regrettably let leave made so many good friendships. She then asked them if they would mind staying in The Underground with all of them instead of leaving.

The answer was obvious. 

All of them smiled to one another at their answer, and only Alphys seemed a bit troubled with the whole situation. She asked Papyrus how he knew what was going on, how he knew to call everyone here. Papyrus looked as if he was hiding a secret, but answered that a tiny flower had told him.

Alphys' face went white and gigantic vines sprung up from the ground and wrapped up each of them in a grip which their faces all revealed to be extremely painful. 

Only the lone human was free and they watched in horror as Flowey popped up, laughing manically. He announced that he had taken the human souls, and began berating them for making so many friends, that it was all their fault they would all die here. 

They fell to their knees, unable to take their eyes off their friend's suffering faces. Flowey continued, they didn't hear all of it, but soon ring of pellets struck them, and another. All they could hear was their own screams and Flowey's laughter. 

The pain stopped, a kinder gentle voice broke through and they looked up to see Toriel smiling through her pain, protecting them with her magic. Flowey tried again and again to finish them off, but each of their friends used their magic to protect them and gave a few encouraging words. 

The barrier room began filling with all the monsters of the underground, all giving them encouragement. Flowey looked taken aback, but his frown twisted into a menacing smile as he announced to all that they were extremely stupid for believing in the human, that all of their souls now were in his grasp. 

Everything went white, then black again. 

They braced themselves for another horrible rendition of Flowey, but when the expected screech of TV static never came and the soft sound of paws padding towards them was there instead, they froze where they stood. Out of the darkness emerged a kind looking monster boy who reminded them slightly of Asgore. He smiled at them, made a comment about how tiring it was being a flower, and then questioned them, no.

Questioned Chara, asking if they were there. 

Their best friend, Asriel Dreemurr, had returned for them.


	7. Chapter 7

Asriel had used both the human souls and all the souls of The Underground to change himself into an infinite being. He had somehow gotten it into his head that they were his long lost sibling, yet due to the trauma of so long without a soul of his own, he only desired their eternal company in battle instead of a warm reunion. 

His attacks we fast and relentless.  
His taunts cold. 

But, no matter what, they felt as if it was impossible to lose here. Everyone they had grown close to, everyone they had learned to love, no, their family was trapped, any only they could get them back. 

Asriel unleashed an attack more extreme than the rest and even though they dodged everything being sucked into it, it sapped away their strength. 

Asriel laughed, surprised that they survived it. He shook his head in disbelief before announcing he'd finish them off with his true power and he transformed into a more sinister version of himself. Their eyes met and all control of their body was lost. 

They struggled as best they could to try and avoid his next attack, but it struck them and they watched in horror as their soul split in half. 

**(Not yet)**

It was forced back whole and they found themselves back in Asriel's grasp. Now though, they could feel their body and pulsing from Asriel's exposed soul, they could feel the ones they loved all crying out at once. 

**(Reach out to them)**

They reached out and called their names.

Toriel.  
Asgore.  
Papyrus.  
Sans.  
Undyne.  
Alphys.

Each of their faces were distorted, empty, but they did what they could to fill their memories with what they knew. They were attacked by all of them, but with perseverance, they came back to themselves, encouraged them, and they were soon back to facing Asriel. 

He seemed different, flustered even. 

**(Now, reach out to him)**

They reached out to him too, and called out his name. Something inside his soul resonated and his memories flooded out. His time with Chara was displayed like a movie in front of them. 

His tears began to fall and he begged for it to end. His anguish turned to anger and an attack that they couldn't avoid hit them. The pain was constant, their fatigue was extreme, but their soul refused to break. 

**(I wont let it)**

It stopped. 

They opened their eyes to see Asriel, now back the way they first met him, sobbing, apologizing. He recalled always being a crybaby, and then took a long look at them. A small smile came to his face as he realized that the human standing in front of him wasn't Chara at all. He asked their name. 

Frisk.  
Their name is Frisk. 

**(You've done well)**


	8. Chapter 8

It had been three months since Asriel had broken the barrier and all of monsterkind went free. Before leaving, Asriel asked Frisk to take of his parents, and despite their illness, they said yes.

Despite their illness, they became monsterkind's ambassador.  
Despite their illness, they chose to stay with Toriel.  
Despite their illness, they helped colonize the area around Mt. Ebott  
Despite their illness, Frisk hid it from everyone. 

They knew there was still nothing to be done about it. The monsters hardly had any money at all after purchasing the land and materials around Mt. Ebott and Frisk wouldn't dream of asking for the expensive treatment they needed. On occasion they tried to re-climb Mt. Ebott in hopes of reaching a saving star again, but they were just too tired. Frisk thought about asking Sans to take him, to use one of his shortcuts, but decided against it as they wanted to avoid looking suspicious. 

Toriel would occasionally comment that they looked tired and would send them to bed thinking that they wore themselves out helping with the colonization. They only ever looked tired on the outside, but on the inside, it felt daily like everything wasn't working anymore. 

One day, the pain was unbearable. Frisk left a note on their bed claiming they decided to go on a small adventure and would be back soon, but they had no idea if they would actually make it back. They could hardly see or walk, but they tried again to make it up Mt Ebott. 

They failed.

They fell. 

Frisk's body went limp and they found themselves face down on the dirt. Through their blurred vision they spied a hollow tree nearby and began to drag their aching body into it. Once inside, their illness set in full force. 

Shaking.  
Splitting pain.  
They could feel blood rising in their throat and it took every bit of effort to not cough. 

They shut their eyes, trying to sleep away the pain, wondering if anyone would find them.

Wondering if this was where they would die. 

Regret began to surface in their mind. 'It would've been better to have turned down being the ambassador and just disappear instead' Frisk thought, but their desire to be with the ones they loved clouded their judgment. 

Sleep was closing in, they welcomed it, but the sudden appearance of a shadow over their closed vision jerked them awake. A small figure was looming over them. 

It was Sans. 

Frisk met his eyes and neither of them said anything. Sans sighed and told Frisk that his little adventure has caused quite the panic and that Toriel has asked him to personally look for them. He looked a little irritated, Frisk's guess was he had been woken from a nap. Sans leaned down, took Frisk's hand and started to pull them up, but immediately stopped when Frisk cried out in pain. 

His pupils faded. 

He released Frisk from his grip and noticed that bruises had formed where his fingers had been. Frisk weakly pulled back and waited for Sans to raise a question or some kind of concern. He didn't.

He just waited. 

And waited

Frisk asked for a favor.

He waited.

Frisk asked to be taken to the to hallway before the barrier room. 

His pupils returned and he scooped up Frisk gently, making a small comment about how scarily light they were before taking the shortcut. Frisk blinked and they had already arrived. They saw the saving star and asked Sans to place them in the area next to it, wondering if he could even see it. He put Frisk down gently and took a few steps back without saying anything. Frisk reached out to the star and touched it.

Nothing happened. 

A bitter smile crossed their face and tears started to drop. What they had feared had come true. After Asriel had broken the barrier, they had touched a saving star and felt it hadn't healed them as thoroughly as before. Whatever had been aiding them was fading away or, their body has become numb to this placebo. Either way, their broken laughter echoed off the walls as they continually slammed their hand into the star, hoping for a result. 

Sans grabbed Frisk's arm, their laughter fading into ragged sobs. 

Frisk told Sans everything. About their reason for climbing Mt. Ebott, finding the saving stars, and about the strange phenomenon that sent them back in time after the fight with Flowey. Their tears triggered a coughing fit, finally allowing the blood in their throat to surface and they pulled away from Sans. Red stained the ground under them, they knew by looking at it that their time was up. They saw it seep under the saving star before their sight completely faded. 

Small bony hands caught Frisk before hitting the ground. Sans, who had been quiet the entire time was now calling out to them, but their hearing was going too, unable to make out his panicked pleas. Unsure what he was saying, Frisk forced a smile, apologized to Sans for lying to him in the judgment hall, and apologized for all the trouble they had caused. 

Their soul shattered. 

It was over. 

 

*****

 

Frisk found themselves in the inky darkness they knew from sparing Flowey in the first timeline. They didn't feel anymore pain, but they also felt extremely empty. 

Empty? 

They looked down to their chest to see the familiar glow of their soul was now absent. 

**(How unfortunate)**

A voice resounded out of the darkness. Frisk had heard it before, but where? Directly in front of them a figure, darker yet darker than what surrounded them, emerged into their sight. 

**(I knew that you were ill, but I greatly miscalculated exactly how far along your illness was)**

Its body looked as if it was in a constant state of melting, sometimes even dripping and reforming. 

**(I thought that perhaps you would have been able to hold on a bit longer, long enough for your human treatment to be available)**

It began to pace. 

**(And even I can't alter this world's-)**

It paused and turned to Frisk. 

**(Ah, I suppose i'm being rude, and you look extremely confused)**

It held up its hands and gestured to itself

**(My name is W. D. Gaster, just Gaster will do if you address me)**

**(I used to be King Asgore's scientist before and unfortunate...accident forced me into what I am now)**

Before Frisk could interject, Gaster started up again. 

**(I am an observer to this world, stuck watching from the outside with minimal interaction, if I can manage it)**

**( I was able to create a star-like image that only humans could observe, and I tried what I could to make it into something helpful)**

**(It was only a short while before you showed up that I was able to make it both a pain reliever and a way to tamper with the timeline if need be, you experienced both of these features)**

**(It had its limits though, as you have discovered)**

Frisk felt as if they should be angry, but their intrigue was stronger. 

**(I was tasked by Asgore to find a a way to break the barrier, but my failures were many, you were the first success)**

**(Emphasis on 'were')**

Gaster waved his hand and a pixelated window opened showing the currently in development monster home. Sans had carried Frisk's body back to the settlement, and that was where the horror began. Everyone was distraught over Frisk's death, but once word of it reached the ears of the humans, they assumed the worst. They only used the child for their escape some said, other accused the monsters of neglect, and it got so out of hand that strange theories such as monster's magic was a poison leaked into the air that only affected humans became things of confirmed fact. It went on and on until the human's fear once again ruled over their hearts and another war began. 

They were grossly outnumbered. 

The monsters were wiped out.

Gaster sighed heavily and waved the window shut. The guilt that Frisk had only felt a twinge of before had now completely taken them over. It was all their fault. They fell to their knees trying to collect what was left of their thoughts.

**(Child, it is not over yet)**

Frisk turned their head towards him. 

**(I give you a choice, stay here for eternity and contemplate what you could have done differently, or Reset)**

Reset? The button from before flashed in their mind.

**(I can use what is left of my influence to send you back to the first star I created, but upon doing so, the stress of sending your soul back in time will most likely null any of my previous influences)**

**(I observe all timelines, meaning I cannot gain back what I used and lost. If you are willing to try and fix this timeline, then I am willing to give up whatever I can)**

He paused

**(However, I cannot guarantee that you will make it back fully intact)**

**(Your illness will still be present and with no stars to encounter on your journey, I feel you will not make it)**

**(On top of that, I cannot predict the result of sending you back so far)**

**(I highly doubt that there will be no side effects)**

He knelt down to Frisk and extended his hand 

**(Still, do you wish to try and save the ones you love?)**

Frisk stared at his hand and hesitated. 

No matter what, they were destined to die, but if all of monsterkind could live, even if it meant staying underground for the rest of their lives, even if it meant their memories would be erased, even if it meant that their existence as the frail child Frisk never held any value, they were determined to make sure the faces of horror painted on their family were to never to surface again. 

Frisk grasped Gaster's hand firmly. 

**(Good, let us begin)**


	9. Chapter 9

Frisk felt as if they had been put through a shredder and then taped back together, but they had regained consciousness exactly where Gaster had promised. Outside The Ruins, surrounded by the familiar red leaves, and Toriel waiting atop the stairs with her patient smile. They touched the star and just as Gaster had predicted, it was no longer healing, but Gaster had predicted that it'd keep their state saved so they wouldn't have to worry about stacking fatigue from possible deaths. Frisk was hoping that his other prediction, the one that involving said deaths resulting as returning to this saving star instead of the realm where Gaster resides, was also true. 

After Toriel had taken her leave, Firsk purposely ran into the magic of the surrounding monsters and allowed their heart to shatter. They opened their eyes too see the same scene.

Star.  
Leaves.  
Toriel.

**(I have a feeling you will get tired of seeing this room)**

Gaster echoed in their head. Frisk wondered if he was going to make comments regularly. At least they both knew how to proceed and that Gaster's predictions were right on the money. 

Especially the one where all the other saving stars were absent. Not one was seen in the rest of The Ruins or Toriel's home. Frisk enquired as to what they were going to do about Flowey and him stealing the souls as they would be sent back to The Ruins' beginning with everything reset again. 

**(I will think of something)  
(Just try to actually reach that point first) **

Frisk made it through The Ruins with no trouble and they were out in the snow again. They worried about their encounter with Sans remembering their last words to him and his strange comment from the second timeline in the judgment hall. 

They heard the branch snap behind them and soon enough Sans was demanding they shake his hand. Frisk took his hand, and a sudden pain shot through them. 

The entire world contorted. 

Frisk looked down and their hand and saw it mimicking the pixelation similar to Gaster's window they had seen earlier. It climbed up their arm and quickly took over their entire body. They ripped their hand away from Sans, desperately trying to get him away from the anomaly. Frisk screamed Gaster's name, hoping to alert him but he gave no answer. Their gaze fell back to Sans who was unaffected by whatever was going on, but his expression was without pupils, staring Frisk down. 

**(-hild wh- is -oing ----)**

Sans took several steps towards Frisk, asking them how they knew that name. Frisk's appearance was slowly returning, along with their face of terror. 

**(I cann- -ee -ou)**

The world became silent again. Frisk's pain faded slightly and they took this opportunity to run. They figured nothing they could explain would be believable. They ran past a very confused Papyrus which fortunately meant that half of the puzzles weren’t active and they were able to keep their pace. 

**(Ah, finally! I can finally see you again!)  
(Why are you running?)**

Frisk quickly explained what had happened to Gaster and that they were terrified of Sans catching up to them.

**(...Get to Snowdin)  
(Sans will not attack you there)**

Enough said, they saw the bridge in the distance and made a mad dash for it. Their path was blocked by a sudden object. 

They had bumped into Sans. 

The anomaly happened again. 

Contact with Gaster was lost and Sans was muttering about not enjoying being ignored, and that the promise wasn't worth this. A large canine-like skeletal head materialized behind him and from its jaw, a beam of light. 

Everything went white.

Frisk found themselves back at The Ruins entrance. They heard Gaster sigh as they got up to meet Toriel. They were left again by her and Gaster started a spiel. 

**(...I have a theory, child, if you are willing to indulge me)**

Frisk nodded.

**(Before your soul was lost to the last timeline, Sans was the last one in contact with you)**

**(It might have been something extremely minor, but I believe that before you were pulled to me, my influence might have created a Butterfly Effect)**

**(Something minor has created a large error that involves you and Sans, and physical touch seems to trigger it)**

**(Sans is a smart monster, he is usually most lazy, but when something jeopardizes his world to a certain extreme, he will act)**

**(I believe this is why he granted your last wish, though I may be wrong)**

Frisk let out a long sigh. How could they progress now? Refusing Sans' handshake would only lead to suspicion and perhaps another death. They were fortunate enough that each reset back to The Ruins would have them in the same state, as predicted. The deaths themselves didn't have any lasting physical effects. 

**(I have an idea)**

*****

Frisk was walking the snowy path again, hearing the branch break and soon Sans' footsteps followed. 

Sans demanded a handshake.

Frisk turned around but didn't extend their hand. They instead looked Sans straight in his eyes and told him they had a code word to tell. San's smile wavered for a moment and he placed his outstretched hand back into one of his hoodie pockets. Frisk sucked in as as much cold air as they could to hide their embarrassment. The words 'i'm a stupid doodoo butt' clumsily fell out of their mouth. Sans looked legitimately surprised. 

**(Don't forget the other one)**

Sans looked like he was about to say something but Frisk stopped him by putting his hand up. Feeling all the blood rush to their face they wheezed out 'i'm the legendary fartmaster'. Frisk covered their face in sweater sleeves with embarrassment. 

There was a long pause.

They heard Sans snigger and they peeked through the blue wool seeing him with a friendly expression. He gestured over to to the sentry station and they both walked behind it and were small enough to fit comfortably under its counter. Frisk made a quick warning not to touch them, Sans gave a quick nod and moved away slightly making the gap between them a bit bigger. He then placed his index finger over his mouth as they heard Papyrus stomping towards them. He called Sans' name a few times before giving up and moving on. 

Sans waited for a few moments, nodded, then turned to Frisk as if giving them permission to start. 

They did. They started from the very beginning, just like in the barrier room before. Sans kept the same expression, until they mentioned Gaster. His pupils faded and Frisk desperately pleaded him to listen all the way through, that they were almost done. Their explanation got frantic all the way up until they mentioned Sans killing them. 

The realization hit Frisk.

One of their best friends had killed them in cold blood, for what was probably a good reason, but tears started falling from their face. Frisk felt as if Sans was probably going to do it again based on his last expression, so they curled up into a ball, hiding their face, asking Sans to get it over with so they could try and figure out something else. 

“Get what over with, pal?” 

Frisk's shock had them jerk their head up quickly and bang it on top of the sentry station's counter. Sans laughed.

“Ouch, might want to avoid losing more HP than you need to kiddo.”

Sans got up, dusted himself off, and then offered Frisk a hand, before remembering the anomaly and sheepishly put it into a pocket. Frisk, confused, dried their tears and looked at Sans. 

“Come on kid, Ive got a human to show Papyrus, and you've got the whole Underground to save.”

He winked and then started to walk away.

“Lets get a move on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left! Thanks for staying this long. 
> 
> Hold onto your butts!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LONG CHAPTER IS LONG. I refused to split this up.

Papyrus was overjoyed at the sight of Sans with Frisk in tow. He was initially enraged, but the confirmation of Sans 'capturing' a human instantly melted away all anger and Papyrus happily ran off to the first puzzle. Sans started after him, swiveling back to Frisk making a phone gesture before taking off again. Frisk's phone rang as soon as he was out of sight. 

“We'll keep in touch kiddo. Just don't expect me to keep an eye socket on you all the time, alright?”

Frisk agreed and told Sans they'd try their best not to die.

“Great. See you at the first puzzle, pal.”

The rest of their duration in the snow area and Snowdin went about the same except for the battle with Papyrus. Previously, they remembered getting injured quite a bit trying to figure out how blue magic worked. This time, it was predictable and they felt a strange upwards pull on their soul when they had misjudged one of their jumps. 

**(Well, that was kind of him)**

**(This is going far better than I initially expected)**

Frisk was exiting the brother's house post date when Gaster spoke up again. Frisk asked what he did expect. 

**(It doesn't matter at the moment)**

**(What does matter is how you are holding up)**

Frisk shrugged. They felt the fatigue of their illness but expressed that they had no idea how to combat it. Frisk's phone started chiming Sans' ring tone. 

“Heeeey kiddo. How's the friendzone treating ya?” 

Frisk made a snide remark about how funny Sans was and started towards Waterfall.

“Whoa, were do you think you're going? That’s the wrong way, pal.”

Frisk turned their head, trying to find Sans.

“Come on over to Grillby's for a bit.”

**(We do not have time for idle chit chat over greasy food)**

Frisk echoed Gaster to a lesser extent. 

“It wasn't a request. Seeya in a few.”

Gaster and Frisk sighed in unison, the latter making their way to the restaurant. Inside, Sans was sitting at the bar and had already ordered a boat of fries for himself and the empty seat next to him. Frisk removed the hidden whoopie cushion from the bar stool and tossed in on San's lap before sitting down. Sans muffed a laugh through chugging ketchup before turning to face Frisk. 

“Aw, I spent all morning figuring out the right way to place it for maximum poot volume.”

**(.....Wow)**

Frisk pulled their fries to them and started eating, asking Sans between bites why he wasn't letting them progress. 

“Straight to the point eh kiddo?” 

He shrugged.

“Fine by me. I just want to try a bit of an experiment and we should probably get a move on.”

Sans waved his hand and Frisk's soul started glowing blue, much like Papyrus' blue magic. 

“Huh, alright, so I can't touch you but magic is fine, as I thought. Good, should probably get you out of here before Undyne shows up.”

Frisk choked on a fry. Undyne!? Why was she coming here?

“Oh, uh, I took the liberty of doing my job for once and let her know that you're here.”

**(Why!?)**

The door to Grillby's shot open and Undyne came charging in, spears aimed right at Frisk. 

“Time for experiment number two.” 

He waved his hand again and moved Frisk out of the way in time. The spears split the stool in two. Grillby was understandably upset. 

“And experiment number three.” 

Frisk was sent flying through the wall, but instead of breaking through it, they phased through it and kept flying at an extreme speed. Their velocity kept constant and continued all the way through Waterfall. They only started to slow down one Alphys' lab came into view and they made a smooth landing just outside the doors. Their cellphone rang. Frisk picked up to hear Undyne screaming at Sans and the sound of glass breaking.

“Woah, kid, you there? Geez!”

The sound of more glass breaking. Frisk answered. 

“Good, it worked then. I'll contact you later, I have to figure out how to cool down Undyne.” 

Papyrus' voice soon mixed in with the rest of the noise. 

“Hoo boy.” 

Sans hung up. 

**(Well, that was certainly convenient)**

**(I'm unsure how you'll befriend Undyne, but we'll leave the situation to Sans for now)**

**(Lets meet Alphys, shall we?)**

Frisk entered the Lab, this time with the lights on and a very confused Alphys staring at her monitor, dumbfounded. Mettaton was behind her scratching his head with a six fingered glove. They both jumped at the sound of the lab doors opening and clearly started panicking when Frisk walked in. After a bit of improvising, Frisk was once again partaking in the game show, but this time answered all the questions perfectly and Mettaton was on his way again. One phone exchange later and so was Frisk. Hotlands went about the same as before, but this time Frisk hardly participated in the more strenuous Mettaton challenges as they knew it was all a 'game' and Mettaton wasn't going to try and harm them until The Core. After the cooking show, Frisk received a text from Sans.

_“Wow, after all that you didn't get any free grub? Lame.”_

Immediately after.

_“I gotcha covered, kid.”_

There was a .zip attached to the messaged titled 'hot animals'. Frisk reluctantly opened it and after a few sound effects, their dimensional boxes were full of hotdogs and hotcats. Frisk texted Sans back telling him they couldn't pay for all this. 

_“Don't worry, i'll put it on your tab.”_

Frisk replied 'what tab, are you Grillby now?'

_“I only wish I was that hot. ;)”_

Gaster groaned, but Frisk felt the corners of their lips rising. Muffled snorts escaped through their mouth as they stuffed the phone back into its pocket. When they passed by Sans' sentry station turned hotdog stand they felt giggles rising again and when Sans winked at them, Frisk lost control. They howled with laughter as they passed by. Gaster grumbled. Frisk imagined him rubbing his eye sockets with annoyance and the thought made them laugh again. Frisk was in high spirits. 

Insomuch they felt their illness wain for a small bit and their journey through Hotlands wrapped up quickly. After another mildly terrifying encounter with Muffet, they were onto The Core. Firsk ignored Alyphs' frantic instructions, waited at the force field, and were once again facing Mettaton. 

**(It'd be best if we just flipped his switch immediately)**

Frisk agreed and fibbed to Mettaton about something cool behind him. He turned his back and with the switch flipped the amazing ridiculous show began again. Even though they were familiar with all of Mettaton's attacks and surprises, Frisk's body was a bit more sluggish than before. They were increasingly thankful for Sans' hot animal supply as eating them actually made them feel a bit better. Soon enough, Mettaton's limbs went flying past them, ratings soared, and the battle was over. 

Frisk was exhausted. When Alphys bust through the doors to check on them, Frisk went to the next room and leaned against the wall. 

**(Are you alright child?)**

They were, just very tired. They told Gaster they thought about going back to the hotel and getting a room if funds allowed. They had been going nonstop and it had seemed to finally catch up with them. A good time too, as Asgore was just around the corner. They needed to figure out what to do. Frisk knew Asgore wouldn't stop fighting unless Toriel made him, and they knew Flowey would take the souls and ruin everything they had worked for. There was just too much at stake to keep going. 

Alphys soon caught up to them, upset, but they didn't move on. Alphys seemed a bit confused but Frisk put their hand on her shoulder. They told her that Mettaton would be fine, they weren't going to kill Asgore, and they were heading back to the hotel to get some rest. Frisk also thanked her for all her help and told her that everything was going to be OK. She said nothing in reply as Frisk gave her one more pat on the shoulder before heading back to the elevator. 

They surprisingly had enough for a room and though the size of the bed was extreme, Frisk fell into a deep sleep upon lying down. 

*****

Frisk heard their cellphone ringing. It was lost under the enormous covers of the bed, and so were they. With a few minutes of rolling around they finally felt the phone hit their leg. It had stopped ringing and they noticed they had about six missed calls. It started up again and they answered immediately answered as it was Sans' ring tone. 

“Geez kid, took you long enough. Thought something had happened to ya.”

Frisk groggily apologized, trying to make their way out of the covers. 

“Nah, don't worry about it. Alphys told me you were at the hotel so I was sending Papyrus over to pick you up and wanted you to have a warning.”

**(For what?)**

“We're having a meeting at Undyne's place, it was sorta planned by Alphys and me and you're the last one we need here to get started.”

A meeting? 

“Anyways, Paps is probably almost there-”

A heavy knock pounded on Frisk's room.

“Welp, sounds like your chariot has arrived. See ya soon, kiddo.”

Finally free from the bed, Frisk opened the door to see Papyrus' beaming smile which they returned the best they could. Their sleep had made them feel heavy and lethargic, not much of an improvement but their pain had subsided for the time being. Without warning, Papyrus picked Frisk up and placed him on his shoulders, saying it would be quicker this way and he started to make his way out of the hotel. Frisk protested, saying they were probably too heavy and could walk on their own, but Papyrus was having none of it, even keeping Frisk on his shoulders for the boat ride to Waterfall. Frisk had forgotten how chilly Waterfall could be a let out a small shiver. This resulted in Papyrus wrapping his cape around them like a giant scarf with his fussing about where would be the best to wrap it properly. Frisk was confused as to where all this added concern was coming from when Gaster spoke up

**(Ah, so that is it)**

**(Ive been keeping my focus on you exclusively but I'm guessing that Sans may have informed the rest of your condition)**

**(Perhaps even about the entire situation)**

**(It would explain why Papyrus is so worried about you)**

Frisk looked at his expression as he placed them down in front of Undyne's house. There was a twinge of worry in his eyes and beads of sweat on his skull. They offered the cape back to him, but he was insistent on Frisk keeping it on. 

Bingo. He'd never want his battle body out of place, ever. 

The door opened and Undyne beckoned them in. Papyrus went in first with Frisk hesitantly following. Around Undyne's table was herself, Alphys, Sans, and a fully repaired Mettaton, back in his original form. Alphys and Mettaton waved while Sans gave them the usual smile. Undyne however, gave Frisk a glare which had Frisk move behind Papyrus' leg to escape. This ignited a squabble between Undyne and Papyrus about forming friendships, not to bully sick people, how Frisk is the reason for their suffering, and the suggestion of handing them over to Asgore was thrown out too. Soon Alphys and Mettaton were throwing in their two cents and the noise was unbearable. Sans tried once to yell over everyone, but it was no use. An idea popped into Frisk's mind and they inched their way over to Sans who had laid his head on the table, probably wondering if this was all a mistake. He noticed Frisk and gave him a quizzical look. Frisk motioned for Sans to touch them.

**(Are you sure that is a good idea?)**

**(Does it not hurt you?)**

Frisk thought it was the best way to get whatever point Sans was trying to get across. In this timeline, not even Sans had seen the anomaly, but if what he had heard was to be believed, it would generate enough shock to quiet anyone. He reached out and playfully poked Frisk's shoulder and it began. 

The house shook.

Frisk became a pixelated mess. 

Everyone went silent and watched in horror until it calmed down. Their eyes fell on Frisk as their appearance slowly loaded back to normal. Sans clapped his hands together.

“Well, now that we have your attention, lets get this meeting started.”

Sans took several pieces of paper out of his hood and placed them in front of Frisk, who was finally getting their breath back. He also rolled a pencil to them.

“As you might have guessed, I told them pretty much everything, omitting a few things here and there. But we have some naysayers and they need some convincing.” 

His gaze turned to Undyne for a second and continued. 

“You don't have to worry about me and Paps, we're rootin' for you, but the other three are a bit skeptical, and were going to need everyone's help if this is going to work, right?”

Frisk nodded.

“Alright then, I want you to write something only each of them would know, so we can get this ball rolling.”

**(Simple, but clever)**

Frisk picked up the pencil and asked them all to turn away as they were writing, for privacy. Still in shock, they complied and Frisk went to work. They detailed Mettaton's letter with information about their relationship with Blooky and they key he threw away. Alphys' letter was about their experience in the True Lab, they also gave her details on Flowey's creation, and they told her that nobody hates her for it. For Undyne's they gave a retelling of her training with Asgore and reminded her how upset she was finally being able to knock him down, but how proud his faced beamed. Frisk carefully folded them and slid them across the table to their places. 

“Alright, you can turn around now.”

Each of them hesitantly picked up their respective letter and Sans motioned Papyrus over to their side so he would be out of peeking range. Mettaton was the first to react. With a 'well, well, well' he refolded his letter and then gave Frisk a thumbs up. Alphys' claws were shaking at her letter. She showed it to Mettaton as if asking if he has told Frisk anything but he denied. Alphys looked at Frisk, terrified and they replied with a patient smile. Alphys refolded her letter and then nodded. Mettaton patted her on the shoulder, trying to comfort her through the initial shock of it all. 

Undyne threw her letter back at Frisk. She had apparently told that story to others and didn't think it was enough proof. 

“Undyne, come on, we don't really have a lot of time here.”

Frisk grabbed another piece of paper and this time asked Papyrus to turn around. He did so willingly and Frisk detailed why Undyne would never let Papyrus into the royal guard and that their cooking lessons were a diversion. They held up the paper in plain view for the whole table to see. Undyne out rightly denied it, but Sans snorted. 

“All of us except you-know-who, know true that is, but you've never actually told anyone.”

Undyne growled, but finally relented. Frisk crumpled up the paper and then told Papyrus to turn back around. 

“Alright, we're good now, right?”

Everyone nodded

“Lets make a plan then. Kid, you got any ideas?”

*****

Frisk was on their way back to Asgore's castle, running through the plan in their head. Mettaton was in the middle of making an Underground wide invitation to a filming at the King's Castle with Alphys handling the broadcast. Sans was going to collect Toriel while Papyrus, Flowey. Undyne had gone on ahead to keep Asgore from initiating battle with Frisk when they arrived. Everything was going to be recreated for Asriel's rebirth. Frisk worried about how the actual battle would go, but Gaster reassured them.

**(I helped you last time and I still have enough influence in this area to do it again)**

**(Do not worry, child)**

A text from Sans arrived, basically telling Frisk they had to force the ruins doors open with, what they learned was called, a blaster and Toriel wasn't very happy about it. Fortunately, a mix of her knowing his voice and the mention that Frisk needed her help, she was more than willing to go. 

“We're on our way.”

Papyrus was next. He had apparently tracked down Flowey, uprooted him, and placed him in flowerpot. They could hear Flowey yelling expletives on the other side of the phone call, but Papyrus also confirmed that they were on the way. Alphys then texted next and let Frisk know that the broadcast was over and they just had to wait for word to spread. 

Frisk reached the entrance to the garden and heard Undyne's and Asgore's voice chatting. The faint smell of tea was wafting through the air and the clacking of teacups were mixed in with the chatter. Mettaton, with Blooky in tow, and Alphys arrived first, then Sans and Toriel, who was extremely delighted to see Frisk. Papyrus arrived last, looking a bit worse for wear, but his HP had not gone down at all. Flowey glared at Frisk with more intensity than Undyne's signature stare down, but they ignored it. Toriel was especially confused but Sans reassured her that they needed everyone's cooperation and that Frisk needed her here. Soon the sounds of many monster paws, fins, boots, ect were echoing through the hall and Frisk motioned everyone to follow them in. 

Asgore almost dropped his teacup upon seeing Toriel, but his shock only grew further when the entire Underground started filing into the garden. Frisk took Flowey from Papyrus and made their way to the middle of the crowd, Mettaton making sure there was a circle for them to execute the plan. Flowey started slamming their head against Frisk, screaming for them to let him go. 

**(It is time, child)**

Frisk nodded to Sans, he nodded back. With a flick of his wrist, the soul containers burst through the flowers and surrounded Frisk. Toriel covered her mouth in horror and Flowey stopped his attack, staring at them greedily. He then looked around the room and a sick smile spread across his face, pedal to pedal. He laughed and began berating Frisk on how stupid they were. Frisk answered Flowey by calling him his name, his real name. Flowey's face turned into one of Asriel's and faced Frisk. Tears dropped from his pedals, praising Frisk, no, Chara, for returning for them. Frisk knelt down and dumped Flowey onto the ground next to the souls. Within seconds, the same vines as before wrapped around everyone and an overly happy Flowey absorbed everything. 

**(Let us finish this)**

*****

Sans came to in the garden of the King's castle, surrounded by friends and strangers. He frantically looked around for Papyrus and breathed a sigh of relief finding him beside Undyne a few feet away. Everyone was still out and Sans carefully stepped over everyone in the way to the barrier room. 

It was gone. 

Sun shone brightly through the entrance, with no barrier to distort its intensity, it was too hard to stare at directly. 

“Heh, wow, they did it. I can't believe they actu-”

Sans stopped. 

Who? 

Who had done this? 

His head hurt. 

He continued to comb through his memories and vaguely remembered talking to someone of the phone. He took out his phone and went to the recent call history.

Nothing. 

It had been completely erased. His text messages, both received and outgoing were blank too. 

He felt something weighing heavy on his soul. This was the second time he had experienced this. 

“Not again.” 

He used a shortcut to get out of the castle and started walking through The Core, holding his head. He scanned the core walls, trying to trigger another memory, but nothing surfaced. He then moved to Hotlands, to where his sentry station was and noticed a large amount of hotdogs and hotcats were missing from his stock. He didn't remember selling that many. 

“Come on...” 

His frustration grew as he did another shortcut to Waterfall were he expected another fruitless search. He went to Undyne's house and found several papers folded up like letters, but none of them had any writing on them, despite the pencil clearly looking used. 

“This is a really bad joke. A really, really bad one.”

He continued through Waterfall wondering if he should go back to the castle or try Snowdin, when he spied something out of place. 

A large gray door. That was new. 

“Jackpot.”

He ran to it and tried to turn the knob. 

No luck. 

“Heh, yeah, no.” 

Sans summoned as many blasters he could manage and the door started to crack under the barrage. 

It broke a hole in the middle. 

The Blaster's beams slipped through and two screams echoed from the other side. 

Sans knew their voices. He peeked through the hole, about big enough for his head to fit through and finally saw the answers to his search. He sighed in relief, letting his head rest on the door above the hole.

“Hey kiddo, and uh, doc? How've you been? This disappearing act thing, you gotta stop that.” 

Gaster, whom was holding a quickly deteriorating, pixelated Frisk, almost dropped them in shock. Frisk had turned their head, most of which had been completely taken over by pixels, to share Gaster's look of disbelief. 

**(H-how?)**

“Thats my line. I thought the kid was only supposed to get all weird if I touched them.”

**(That is not what I was referring to, but the child's condition is a result of coming in contact with you while inside another's soul)**

“Gee, how vague.” 

All three of them said nothing, just staring. Sans broke the silence.

“So, what now?”

**(Return to Papyrus and go to the surface)**

**(The fact that your are even here is baffling)**

“Uh, nope. Not leaving without the kid, and you too if possible-”

**(It is not possible)**

**(When the child saved your soul a similar phenomenon occurred as when I fell into The Core)**

**(Neither of us can move from this place, that much should be obvious to you)**

“Yeah, but, what if someone happened to blast a hole into your little prison?” 

Sans' cheekily traced his fingers across the hole. Frisk giggled but then frowned. They reminded Sans that their illness was too far along, that it wouldn't matter as they were going to die soon anyways, even if they didn't get sucked into the void with Gaster. 

“And? That means you just get to vanish from everyone's memory just because? Not fair, kiddo. You're going to make Papyrus cry.” 

He eyed Gaster and then used his blue magic to grab Frisk and lift them towards the door. 

“Both of you are leaving with everyone, now.” 

One of the blasters took a bite of the the existing hole, making it big enough to fit Frisk through head first. Frisk fit through and the pixelation on their body faded. Sans set them down behind him. 

“We'll get you to the surface, and we'll get you some treatment, OK? So hang on for a bit.”

He turned back to the door. 

“Alright Doc, your turn.” 

Gaster shook his head. 

**(Sans, Ive been here for far too long)**

**(The child was able to retain their form as they hadn't fully gone through the transformation this places forces upon you)**

**(Look at me Sans, Its been awhile since I was whole, but I certainly don't remember being this liquefied)**

**(I'd say its a bit too late for me now)**

The door started to rebuild itself. 

“Nope.” 

The Blasters started on the hole again. Gaster laughed. 

**(You forget who created those)**

He waved his hand and the Blasters disappeared. Sans tried to summon more but they didn't heed his call. The door continued to rebuild itself. 

“No...”

Sans grabbed onto the remains of the hole and tried to keep it open. Gaster smiled. 

**(Sans)**

**(Thank you)**

**(And)**

**(I'm sorry)**

Gaster's eyes glowed a faint blue and Sans was sent flying backwards. Sans shot back up and bounded to the door. It completely rebuilt and disappeared before Sans reached it. 

**(Please grant Frisk's last wish)**

His fists hit the wall. 

He slid to his knees. 

Memories were fading again. He clutched his head as if trying desperately to prevent them from slipping out. He shut his eyes, trying to focus everything on the face he just saw, to imprint it into his mind. 

It was gone. He started to wonder why he was so sad. Why were his fists so fixated on the wall. A rough cough brought him back to reality. He turned around to Frisk lying on the ground, a pool of blood underneath them. Sans ran over to them.

“Kid, I thought I told you to hang on for a bit.”

Sans' picked them up, the anomaly didn't occur. Something had fixed it, but it was too late now. 

“Come on, we'll get you to the surface now. I'm sure we'll be able to afford it, somehow.”

Frisk weakly begged to be taken to the flowerbed in the ruins. 

“Kid, theres no ti-”

A faint echo of granting Frisk's last wish bounced inside his skull. Frisk pleaded and apologized, covering their blood filled coughs with their sweater sleeve. Sans took a deep breath and hugged them closer to his chest. 

“Alright, kiddo. Just...just hold on, OK?”

A quick shortcut brought them both to The Ruins entrance, the saving star gone. 

“Where are they at?”

Frisk weakly pointed in its direction and Sans took brisk steps towards it. He could see a faint light at the end of the path, and in it, a figure. 

Asriel. 

The empty prince heard footsteps but didn't move to acknowledge them. Sans walked around him and brought Frisk into his view. He had already been crying, but his tears returned upon seeing Frisk. 

Frisk asked to be laid down on the flowers, Sans did so. They noticed their blood had stained Sans' iconic blue hoodie, Frisk apologized. Sans only shook his head. Asriel yelled at Frisk for being an idiot and grabbed one of his hands. Frisk smiled and apologized to Asriel, for using him to open the barrier. Asriel sobbed, he told Frisk he was angry at them for another reason. Told him that all the monsters who barely knew him, yet loved him would now have to suffer, not remembering their existence. Sans closed his eyes.

“That...was your plan all along, wasn't it?”

He bent down to Frisk and re opened his eyes to reveal his no pupils look. 

“You intentionally went to me in Asriel's soul fully knowing the anomaly would cause you to be forgotten.”

Frisk answered 'no, it was just a theory' and smiled weakly at him. He then said it was a failure as both of them had figured them out. Asriel, when they had faded away after the barrier was broken, and Sans when he had stumbled upon the door. Gaster had been extremely cross with Frisk when he had specifically instructed to them to not make contact with Sans inside Asriel's soul. Reaching out to Papyrus would've been more than enough to bring them both back.  
However, Frisk wanted to free their friends completely. From their prison from any heartache they could cause in their death. To them, they were already dead. It would have been better if they were just forgotten. Their surface parents wouldn't care, and their Underground friends wouldn't have to potentially suffer any consequences. The unstable state of Asriel's soul and the anomaly combined could surely cause some sort of reaction, perhaps the one they longed for. So they tried out their theory, and it worked. 

But Sans meddled. 

“Heh, its nothing something I usually do, trust me.”

He grabbed Frisk's other hand, his eyes back to normal. 

“But when you've already lost someone once, it does some strange things to ya, kid.” 

Frisk squeezed both of their hands and closed their eyes. Their voice was fading but they asked them to try and forget, to be happy. Asriel laughed, not sure how to enjoy life as Flowey, but promised to try. Sans didn't say anything but squeezed Frisk's hand back. 

It was over, and though their voice was no longer, they mouthed 'i'm sorry' before finally hearing their soul shatter for the last time.

******

Year 201X

To unknown circumstances, all of Monsterkind was freed from the Underground. Using what money they had equivalent to those of human funds, they purchased the land surrounding the mountain which imprisoned them for so long. Their days are currently spent building both homes and relationships with their human neighbors. All is going well and with the kindness of the former King and Queen of the monsterkind softening the hearts of the fearful humans and one extremely enthusiastic skeleton acting as both mascot and ambassador easing the human's worries. The bridge between the two kinds had begun to be rebuilt. Many often wonder of the strange day of waking up in the King's castle to find the barrier gone, but all decided to call it a miracle brought to them by the fabled Angel of Prophecy. All vowed to never return to their prison, thinking it a taboo. 

However one skeleton, much different from the other, yet still greatly beloved, often climbs back to the summit, a planter with a very talkative flower in tow. Nobody knows why he returns and due to the silly taboo rumor, nobody asks. 

He always wears a stained blue hoodie on his visits and wears it on no other days. He and the Flower always return in time for the stars to appear and always take their time down the path. They talk of someone beyond their reach, just as the stars are. 

Upon returning, all talk of their mystery friend ceases.

And life continues on.

Without them.

But they'll never forget them. 

Their Angel of Sacrifice.

Frisk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I had this idea in my head for awhile and wanted to get it out. A very special thanks to my friends http://sureisdusty.tumblr.com/ and https://askbadtemfrisk.tumblr.com/ for dealing with my creative outbursts and supporting me!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for giving this fic a look! Its been a couple years since ive written anything, so I thought i'd try to get back into the groove with this idea that came to my head. I hope you look forward to it!


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